THE BIRTHDAY PARTY Will Embark on UK Tour
By: Stephi Wild Jan. 07, 2020
Michelle Collins will play Meg Boles, Tristan Gemmill will play Goldberg and Paul Hickey will play McCann in a national UK tour of Harold Pinter's comedy of menace which will receive a dramatic new re-imagining from the team behind Waiting for Godot. Following a two-year celebration of the works of Harold Pinter in the West End, this is Pinter's most popular and widely performed play. Further casting will be announced in due course.
The tour will open at Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham on 2 - 11 April (with press night on 7 April) followed by The Lowry Quays (14-18 April), Oxford Playhouse (21- 25 April), Guildford Yvonne Arnaud (28 April - 2 May), Edinburgh Kings (5-9 May), Norwich Theatre Royal (12-16 May), Cardiff New (26-30 May), Richmond Theatre (2-6 June) and Milton Keynes Theatre (9- 13 June).
Set in a dilapidated seaside boarding house the mysterious Stanley Webber receives a visit from two sinister strangers, Goldberg and McCann. They arrive on Stanley's birthday - or is it? What do they want and why do they want to turn Stanley's quite world upside down?
Everyman Theatre's Creative Director, Paul Milton, brings together this fine cast to present Pinter's classic darkly comic masterpiece with design by Dawn Allsopp, Lighting design by Michael Hall and Sound design by Steve Anderson.
Michelle Collins has worked extensively in television and theatre over the last 30 years. She has appeared in two of Britain's best-loved soaps EastEnders and Coronation Street, the hugely popular Two Thousand Acres of Skye and The Illustrated Mum for which she received an international Emmy.
Tristan Gemmill is best known for his long running role as Dr Adam Trueman in much loved British medical drama Casualty and most recently as lead regular Robert Preston in Coronation Street. As well as his Casualty and Coronation Street roles, Tristan has starred in other TV shows including Atlantis, Cape Wrath, Where The Heart Is, Grass, Death in Paradise, and Call the Midwife.
Tristan has starred alongside Adrian Brody and Keira Knightley in the critically acclaimed film, The Jacket. Other film credits include, Flying Blind opposite Helen McCrory and The Adventurer: The Curse of The Midas Box with Michael Sheen and Sam Neill.
Tristan's most recent appearance in the West End was playing the title role in The Bodyguard opposite Beverly Knight for which he received rave reviews. Further theatre credits include A Street Car Named Desire for Theatre Clwyd, Dangerous Corner for Chichester Festival Theatre and Henry V for the Royal Shakespeare Company.Paul Hickey's theatre credits include Waste, Our Class, Children of the Sun, The Playboy of the Western World, Romeo and Juliet and Peter Gynt (all at The National Theatre); Fewer Emergencies, Bang, Bang Bang, Crazyblackmuthafukinself, O Go My Man, and Who Cares at the Royal Court; Macbeth and The Deep Blue Sea at the Royal Exchange, Manchester; The Merchant of Venice for the RSC (World Tour); Incognito and Drink Dance Laugh Lie at the Bush; Little Light at the Orange Tree; In The Next Room (Or The Vibrator Play) at the Ustinov. Fred's Diner and Wallenstein at Chichester Festival; Ghosts at the Arcola; Pentecost and In A Little World of Our Own at The Donmar Warehouse; Helen and I for Druid; Red Roses and Petrol, Lady Windemere's Fan and The Ash Fire at the Tricycle; Dealer's Choice and My Night With Reg at Birmingham Rep, The Last Yankee at The Print Room; The Silver Tassie and The Plough and the Stars at The Abbey Theatre.
Television includes: Catherine The Great, The Last Czars, Three Girls, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries (series iv-vi), Doctor Who, Father Ted, Nuremberg, Whitechapel, Sunshine, The American, Critical, Doctors, Friends and Crocodiles, The Governor, Murder Squad, Rebel Heart and The Informant. Paul has played Johno in Red Rock (BBC/Virgin Media) for the last few years.
Films include: 100 streets, Bitter Harvest, Saving Private Ryan, War Machine, Noble, The Matchmaker, Though The Sky Falls, Nora, Spin The Bottle, Moll Flanders, The General, On The Edge and Ordinary Decent Criminal.
Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham will be producing and co-producing more work throughout 2020 including Shirley Valentine starring Claire Sweeney, directed by Ian Talbot which opens on 13 February, a 10-week national tour starting on 23 April of Ian Hislop and Nick Newman's new comedy A Bunch of Amateurs and a co-production with Bath Theatre Royal of The Dresser staring Julian Cleary and Matthew Kelly directed by Terry Johnson which will tour nationally, opening at Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham on 10 September. For further details visit www.everymantheatre.org.u
Tour Dates
Press night: Tuesday 7th April at Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham
2 - 11 April
Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham
www.everymantheatre.org.uk/
01242 572 573
14 - 18 April
The Lowry Quays Theatre
https://thelowry.com
0343 208 6000
21 - 25 April
Oxford Playhouse
https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com
01865 305305
28 April - 2 May
Guildford Yvonne Arnaud
www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk
01483 44 00 00
5 - 9 May
Edinburgh Kings
https://www.capitaltheatres.com/
0131 529 6000
12 - 16 May
Norwich Theatre Royal
www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk
01603 63 00 00
26 - 30 May
Cardiff New Theatre
https://www.newtheatrecardiff.co.uk/
(0)29 2087 8889
2 - 6 June
Richmond Theatre
https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-birthday-party/richmond-theatre/
0844 871 7651
9 - 13 June
Milton Keynes Theatre
https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-birthday-party/milton-keynes-theatre/
0844 871 7652
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